Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Now what? Three moves the Red Sox should make

It happened
again. Just when it appeared the Red Sox were over the hump and about to
go on a tear, they had another setback last night in Minnesota.
Although they showed some life coming back from an early 5-1 deficit,
they couldn't finish the job and are once again a perfectly mediocre
.500.The magic of
2013 has been missing all year, along with the mojo for winning that
made last season so special. How can the Sox get it back? Here are three
sure-fire ways:Sign Jon Lester nowRemember the infusion of positive vibes that accompanied Dustin Pedroia's inking an eight-year contract extension last July? The Red Sox should do the same thing with their indisputable ace pitcher before it's too late.

In Jon Lester,
the Red Sox have a horse, a 21st century version of Roger Clemens. He's
not going to annually pitch 250 innings a year like Clemens -- nobody
does that anymore -- but 200 has become the new 250 and Lester nails
that mark each year. Throwing out 20-win seasons, which has been outed
as a non-relevant stat, Lester is one of the best left-handed pitchers
in the game and in the upper echelon of MLB pitchers period.He is also in the last year of his contract, and is pitching better than ever at age 30.
Given his body type and his track record of good arm health -- his
early-career cancer bout should not be factored in here -- there is
every reason to believe Big Jon can pitch effectively into his late 30s.
Certainly nobody questions his toughness; in that regard, he is the
anti-Clay Buchholz.Much was made of Lester's comments about being willing to take a "hometown discount" and re-sign with Boston.
Some may think he was blowing smoke, but this is not a guy who tends to
speak off the cuff. I believe he's sincere, and if John Henry and Co.
offer a reasonable long-term deal -- their first savoy was clearly not
meant to be taken seriously -- Lester will sign. Why wouldn't he? He has
proven to be a dominant postseason pitcher, and with the Red Sox he has
a chance to reach the playoffs every year and add to his two World
Series rings.Sign Lester now, and don't take a chance on his going elsewhere after the season as a point of pride. Boston's rotation has one fragile Ming vase in Buchholz
(who's actually pitching more like a tomato can this year), one
reclamation project in John Lackey, and a couple boxes of chocolates in
Jake Peavy and Felix Doubront. You never know what you're going to get;
Exhibit A being Peavy's dreadful second inning last night. There may be great pitching in the farm system, but nobody who is a proven big league ace. The Red Sox already have one of those, and they should do everything possible to keep him.

In addition to having a wonderful baseball name, Sox second base prospect Mookie Betts
also has a wonderful average -- .399 at Double A Portland through last
night. He has skyrocketed into a blue-chip prospect, and while there is
no guarantee he is ready for the majors, the Red Sox would have nothing
to lose calling him up for the upcoming homestand. The Boston
bench has provided little pop. Only Brock Holt is hitting above .184,
and he's had just 23 at-bats. Perhaps Betts could keep up his blazing
bat as a pinch-hitter, and as a strong glove man who has also played
short in the minors, he could serve as a late-inning defensive
replacement as well. Slumping rookie shortstop Xander Bogearts could use
some days off.Betts
even steals bases, an art in which the current Red Sox are severely
lacking in (see below). Give the kid a chance -- if he falters
initially, he's got time on his side. He's just 21.

Bring back Johnny Damon -- as a base-stealing instructor

Much has been
made of Boston's dismal base-stealing this year. While it was expected
the Sox would see a major drop-off in thefts with the departure of
Jacoby Ellsbury, the success rate of those left behind -- even normally
efficient runners like Shane Victorino and Dustin Pedroia -- has been
frighteningly bad.

About Me

Why another blog? Why another site that will largely be Red Sox-oriented?
Quite a few of my books are out of print. This blog should help keep them available.
I still keep active writing and editing books and brief biographies for SABR (Society for American Baseball Research), and have written over 350 bios of Red Sox players. They’re available on the SABR site, and through Retrosheet.org and Baseball-Reference.com, but this site lets me group them all together in a way that features the Red Sox bios.
The Red Sox themselves have been very generous with access to the park, to games, and to historical photographs, and even hired me as a consultant to help with the planning for the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park and to write much of the material for the Fenway 100 website.
If this site is successful – both the blog and the building historical record – it should encourage me to continue to add material on an ongoing basis. That’s how I’ll measure the success of the site: is it something that will keep me contributing?